David Logan's Posts

As students return to RWU for the beginning of fall classes, I thought I would provide snapshots of a couple of rising 3Ls who had unique summer experiences….
Jay Resmini
Jay Resmini spent his summer in Los Angeles, working in the Worldwide TV Distribution Legal Department of MGM studios. He was immersed in entertainment law, with projects changing almost daily. The highlight: a project for the Vice President involving a 64 picture agreement with French television. Jay: “I had to regularly communicate with the many players involved. At first I was a bit intimidated, especially...

Over the last 6 years RWU Law has been an active participant in shaping both the present and the future of law school admissions through service to the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC). While LSAC is best known for administering the LSAT, it is a non-profit organization that governs much of the legal admissions process in the United States, Canada, and Australia (and soon India and China!). We are proud that LSAC has appointed three of our own to prestigious posts.
Michael Boylen, our Assistant Dean of Admissions, has been appointed Chair of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and...

On July 16, 2009, Paul Suttell was sworn in as Rhode Island’s 51st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, with state and federal judges, political leaders, family and friends in attendance. In spite of the dreary day, the atmosphere was festive, reflecting the remarkably broad array of support (a unanimous vote in the Senate) for the jurist from Little Compton, who has moved from the Family Court (where he served 1990-2003), to Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (2003-09), and now to the pinnacle of the state judiciary as Chief Justice.
Dean Bastone and I attended the ceremony, where...

The WSJ has profiled Chantal Tocci (’04) and her unique career path.
By SARAH E. NEEDLEMAN
Two years ago, Chantal Tocci quit a job as a law-school admissions coordinator to escape a difficult boss.
As she networked to find her next position, Ms. Tocci told her tai chi instructor—also a production executive for the Fox TV show “America’s Most Wanted”—that she was on the hunt. He said the program had an opening for a production assistant in the hotline department. Ms. Tocci applied for the job and got it.
In her second week, she took a call from a tipster that led to an arrest—the...

One of the highlights of the 2007-08 academic year was the extended visit we had from Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. While many law schools get a cameo appearance from a Justice, the entire RWU Law family got to spend time with the outspoken jurist: breakfast for leaders in the bench and bar, a lunch with faculty, a public session, a meeting with student leaders, and a Constitutional Law class for all 2Ls.
More recently, I traveled to Washington to present the Justice with an Honorary Degree which the law school Board of Directors had...

RWU Law launched its Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance Program this summer. Created through the generosity of RWU President Dr. Roy J. Nirschel, and Jack and Sara McConnell, the program provides financial assistance to alumni who represent indigent clients in civil and criminal proceedings. Our first recipients are a terrific group of recent grads who as students took full advantage of our exemplary clinical, externship and public service programs while at RWU Law. Here are brief descriptions of the important work that the program supports and below that some pics from a summer...

When the Liberian Ambassador to the United States, Nathaniel Barnes, visited RWU Law last semester he did more than just meet with our students, faculty and staff. He told a moving story of the needs of the Liberian legal community which sparked an interest among our students to make a difference. As a result, the School of Law and its students embarked on a book drive to benefit the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia. With the support of the law library, members of the faculty, and many students, the school collected over 200 books on a range of...

The Roger Williams Law Alumni Association (LAA) held its annual meeting in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the RI Bar Association. The event offered an opportunity to salute the RWU Law graduates who serve in the Rhode Island Legislature: Senators Daniel P. Connors ’02 and Christopher Maselli ’99, and Rhode Island House of Representatives Robert B. Jacquard ’98, Peter F. Kilmartin ’98, and J. Patrick O’Neill ’98.
Daniel is the Senate Majority Leader, representing Cumberland and Lincoln since he was elected in 1996.
Christopher was elected in 2006, and is currently the Chairman of the...

Despite the slow down in legal hiring this past year, we are pleased to report that RWU 2008 graduates fared well. In fact 92.1 % of our graduates were employed or pursuing a graduate LLM degree, running slightly ahead of the national average as reported by the National Association for Law Placement, which collects data six months after graduation.
Also noteworthy, 13% of our 2008 graduates were selected for judicial clerkships while nationwide only 9.6% secured those prestigious positions. And, finally, 8% of our graduates went into the public interest sector outpacing the national rate,...

One of the stars of the RWU Law faculty is Emily Sack, who has already earned a national reputation for her work on a broad array of domestic violence issues.
Emily, a Magna Cum Laude graduate of New York University School of Law, has published articles in a number of important law reviews, including the Northwestern University Law Review, the Wisconsin Law Review, and the Washington University Law Review, and has participated in symposia at Brigham Young, Catholic University, and St. John’s law schools. One of Emily’s articles was cited repeatedly in Justice Steven’s dissenting opinion...